Choose items that are easily recyclable. Serve drinks in cans rather than styrofoam cups.

Put out easily identifiable bins where guests can see them. Blue for recycling, green for food waste, black for garbage. Guests are more likely to recycle or compost if the bins are accessible.

Compost food scraps. In Ontario, most of us have green bins so this is really easy.

Use Cloth napkins and real dishes. You can rent the dishes for a large party. If that doesn't suit you, look for biodegrable tableware made from sugarcane or wheat fibers. If you must use paper products, look for post-consumer recycled fibers. And don't forget that napkins can go into the green bin!

Re-use decorations from other parties or make decorations out of other materials, such as a pinata. Invset some time in making non-specific festive decorations such as felt pennets or banners, a generic "party" sign that can be used for any party over and over again. I love the idea of the wooden sign in the image above. Why not try your hand at a diy project?